Post #164

The end of an era

With school back in full swing and me actually attempting to have a life outside of my computer monitor/TV, I have decided to make this my last post here. I may have to come back at the least to make the obligatory post #164 though. The poker scene at home has slowed to a halt pretty much. I still plan on playing when and where I can, of that have no doubt.

To recap the end of my LA trip a couple weekends back: Waking up to a flat tire was sweet; looked soft before I left so I added some air but apparently the trip down killed it as it went dead overnight. Nice when the first thing you get to do in the morning is crawl under your car and jack it up and change a tire. Fucking nails on the roadways, I swear it's a goddamn tire company conspiracy. I think I was last talking about having some fun with Scott on a table, where I was performing my very best mock Asian accent. Until my THC-laden brain registered that 75% of the room was in fact Asian. Hey, I ruzz jus joking ferrahs, come on. No traffic at midnight, about the only good time to drive in this congested hellhole. Fed a squirrel right out of my hand; Amy & Stu have been feeding him and even named him "Squirreltime," I was also told there was another who met an untimely fate unfortunately.

The tournament I came down for didn't go so well. Level 2 and I was out already. QQ, set on the river, but also gave the flush to my opponent, who didn't even realize it until another player pointed it out. Fabulous; not even an hour for my $330. I wasn't doing too bad: AK, flop top 2; 77, make the call, 95% sure I'm good, which I was; picked up an extra 600+ in the first level. Still better than the poor guy who busted in the first 15 minutes with AA v JJ when the Jacks called and turned a third. Huge turnout, they passed the 720 cap. I later heard 1st paid out in excess of $80K. Each hand of mine cost me $110-sweet.

Frank, that fucker, got me good. As we had never met before and I had no idea what he looks like, he sat down next me and starting asking me about FCP. I thought he was the player who was in the seat next to mine until he let me in on it. Goddamn bastard, it was funny though. Good poker face-"Who's Negreanu?"!!! Played the cash games afterward till the sun came up and left a loser. Fell down and then got most of it back but then somehow pissed it all away again when a player who couldn't miss sat down at my table and destroyed everyone.

Bonnie Raitt and Keb Mo concert was great, realized though I am now becoming middle-aged as I looked around at the rest of the audience.
Bought a new desktop with AMD Athlon 64 Dual-Core technology for $1500 because it sounded bad-ass and Daron put it together for me. So big it wouldn't even fit on my desk. It does have a drawer though.
Mullets & Nachos: what ballgames are all about. A's clinched their division, not for me though, as they were unable to do so either of the 2 games vs the Angels I went to. 3rd out of 8 my first FCP Superstars match, 1st my 2nd! Bummed that the new Neg-O Mixed Games League is on Tuesday nights during my Biology class. Saw a VW Cabriolet with only 1 rear wheel, centered in the back-there are some wacky hippies in this state, let me tell you (and I know a lot of 'em!).

Two tickets @ $25 a pop, PLUS $8.30 EACH for a "convenience" charge, then another $4.60 on top of it all for order processing. So I ended up spending like $71 for the 2 tickets after all was said and done-buy 2, pay for 3?!?. Fuck Ticketbastard.

I love California in the Fall...

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The Bike Sucks, Commerce Rocks

Hit the Bike first off. Before I launch into my tirade, the above sign outside the doors should have served as a warning for the crap I was to encounter inside. Got there early afternoon, started off in a $40 10-player SNG. Busted 9th when I made an ill-timed move.

Played a bunch of $1/2 NL and ended up down after more of the same. One more SNG before the $230 I came to play @ 7PM. Down to 5 and I am the chip leader by a wide margin. I fold, flicking my cards toward the dealer and one card falls to the floor. Joanna, my dealer, tells me to pick up the card. I am sitting directly across from her and the card is by her feet so I assume she is joking. Even though she has had no humor in her demeanor since minute one.

Then she says I get a 20 minute penalty away from the table. I am in disbelief, as I have never heard of that before, and a floorman comes over. Prior to both of my SNGs I was told about some rules by another floorman but definitely not that one. This floorman then proceeds to essentially tell me I am a liar, because my dealer and this other idiot at my table say we were told. 20 minute penalty, we are down to 5, we only started with 500 apiece and blinds are 100-200. Not to mention levels are only 15 minutes. This is the most absurd bunch of bullshit I have ever seen, are these people fucking serious?

Blinds are now 200-400 and we are down to 3. OK, I made the money. But I'm still not happy because this match should be mine and now I'm the shorty. I now have one single 50 chip and the lady goes all-in and the kid calls her. She's out, what a stupid idiot. If she had waited one more hand, she would have been guaranteed 2nd. Dumbass.

I collect my winnings and tell Joanna that I hope she is involved in a horrific auto accident this evening, being the dumb Thai hooker that she is, on my way to the cashier. The floorman standing nearby says, "What did you say?" as I am walking away and I might have given him the bird, I was so enraged by this garbage. If I had been informed of the rule beforehand, I would have been OK, despite the fact that it was an accident as well. And this was right before the tourney that I had originally came to play was going to start. Needless to say, I will never go back to the Bike again. The Bike and their 20% rake on tournaments can eat a fat dick.



Called Scott, my old H/U teammate from FCP who was going to meet me there, and said I was heading to the Commerce. We met up over there, had a brew, and he showed me around, since it's his home hunting ground. The place is ginormous, two huge rooms for poker downstairs with another big one for table games, then another biggie upstairs as well for tournaments.

We hopped on a $3/5 NL table (he plays mainly $20/40 limit but said he was down for some NL, which is my pref). Had a bunch of fun, even came up over $300 for just a few hours. He also helped me get a discounted poker room rate on my stay since he is a regular.

Los Angeles-Fake Tits & Stretched-Out Faces

There was some serious fire damage around Castaic and Pyramid Lake visible from the freeway going through the Grapevine. The smoke rising into the air reminded me of the first time I ever came to California and we were coming over the pass on the 80 and there apparently was a huge forest fire and the sun was setting and all the resulting smoke was obscuring the sun and if I just had had a camera, maybe I could have gotten a National Geographic cover-winning photo.

Speaking of photographic excellence, Amy was recognized as one of the 10 best young photographers in the U.S. recently in a magazine. Got into town and off the road just as rush-hour traffic began really setting in, thank God. Their house is a slice of New England down amongst the palm trees. Property values in this state are insane: Amy said their home was worth probably a mil now, nearly double what they bought it for five years ago-Julio said the same about their place out on the Delta; roughly double as well, but they've also put a lot of work into it as far as I know. Will I ever be able to afford property here?!?

Ate at Asanebo, a kick-ass sushi joint in Studio City, opened by one of Nobu's partners. Incredible food; had some amazing toro, actually enjoyed the uni, the in-house pear sorbet was delish! Went for the off-menu gastronomical challenge: "hoya", this foul-smelling, crazy red, alien-looking clam-crustacean creature that had the chefs all grinning 'cause we ordered it. It tasted like a handful of sand wiped off the heel of a dead hooker floating off the New Jersey shoreline; absolutely disgusting.

District B13

Ubercool French martial arts action film, set in a futuristic ghetto. Makes Jackie Chan almost look soft. The dubbed dialogue is pretty lame but the action sequences are out of control-the initial chase scene is off the hook!

Blue is Gone; now it's push-button goodness

Old Blue has been retired; in its place is a brand-new '06 Air Nautique. Keyless ignition, hull seating, underseat iceboxes, draining drinkholders (so you can keep your beer on ice!), a push-button ballast system, cruise control, this baby's got it all. What 6 stacks of High Society'll getcha-some serious good times in Discovery Bay. On the other hand, Julio & Tracy's pup, Disco, has proven to be a real troublemaker as you can see-besides my sandal, he grabbed my Bluetooth headset, Tracy's cell phone, mail off the counter; the little bastard eats anything and everything. They did teach him to climb the swim ladder onto the boat dock though which is pretty slick. He's still a little monster though.

2 B+'s and a C for the summer-I'll happily take it. $300 for a belt & pulley & new spark plugs for da jeep-boo.

Life is full of surprises

Just received a text message on my phone saying to go out to my mailbox and lo and behold, there really is $380 in it from Andre Parishan. He says 3 weeks from now and I'll get the other half as well. Almost a year later is better than never.

Luckiest Loser

Took down the FCPHUL Lucky Losers freeroll this morning! Woke up extremely groggy but came through at the end to win not only my $500 entry fee for next season but a $20 sidebet with Gary when we got H/U. And he thought he could beat me with my own magic on the last hand-bah. CC Riders Rule!

Took 2nd out of like 30 in a Qualifier for a $100+8 ticket off a $16 buy-in @ FCP. Then proceeded to pick up an extra hundy or so playing short-handed at the house again. FCPHUL Lucky Losers freeroll in the AM then the Protege Seat 8 Qualifier in the afternoon. Got a little dough riding on the Giants (vs Colts) tomorrow night as well.

Started off back online at SportsInterAction with $50 that my Life Of Sports rep sent me for referring some other college workers to him. Bubbles and bad beats all over again-ugh. A healthy 6 hour short-handed sesh at the house more than made up for it though.

Made a res at the Crowne Plaza hotel at the Commerce Casino for the night of the tourney. Been perusing the daily tournament schedules of the local casinos, looks like some inexpensive buy-ins to be had for me.

Kind of pissed I didn't even realize the WSOP Circuit at Tahoe was the same week. Been wanting to hit Commerce and the Bike though.